


Doves and Demons

by youtomyme



Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M, fairy tale AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-26
Updated: 2012-12-26
Packaged: 2017-11-22 11:56:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/609563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youtomyme/pseuds/youtomyme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean is trapped in a tower by the horrible wizard Azazel. The cursed wizard, Gabriel, in a quest to find his bondmate to break the spell placed on himself, saves him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Doves and Demons

**Author's Note:**

> For myhellhoundisbiggerthanyours on Tumblr for Christmas

Gabriel didn't find out about Dean the way he found out about most other princes and princesses he hoped would turn out to be his bondmate (i.e. flitting around gardens and listening to fountain gossip). He had been flying around sleepily, pondering where next to look for bondmate candidates, when an air pocket took him by surprise and he ended up hurled into a window.

There was a loud shout of 'What the fuck?!' and Gabriel jumped to his feet and began hurriedly preening himself to continue his flight. But before he could finish doing this, he was seized by the occupant of the room, then carried gently to the window.

'Sorry about that, little fella,' said the man, putting him down on the window sill and stroking his feathers back. 'A storm's coming, you shouldn't be out there.'

'Then maybe I could stay here,' Gabriel said, and the man knocked him off the sill in shock.

Almost unsurprised at this point (most people reacted similarly to talking birds), Gabriel caught himself and flew back up to the window.

'Sorry,' he said. 'I still haven't found a way to gently break it to people that I'm a talking pigeon.'

'You're a dove,' the man seemed unable to stop himself from saying, and Gabriel let out a coo that was like a laugh.

'What's the difference? I'm white and feathery.'

'There's a difference.' The man dragged a chair to the window and sat down. 'So are you a dove that can talk, or a wizard turned into a dove?'

'Very clever, most people take a while to get it,' Gabriel said, ruffling his feathers in approval. 'I'm a wizard. I was, in the words of my brother, a womanizer, so he turned me into a dove until I could find my one true love.'

The man laughed. He had nice green eyes. 'Does true love exist?'

'I believe that all love which is sincere and wishes for nothing but love in return is love,' Gabriel answered. It was something he'd thought about a lot, flying around the realm, and that was his conclusion. 'But in my case, I'll know when I find him.' He paused. 'At least, that's what Michael said.'

'Is that your brother's name? What's your name?'

'Gabriel.' He extended a wing as if to shake Dean's hand. 'What's yours?'

'Dean.' He took Gabriel's wing in between two fingers and shook it half-heartedly. 'Azazel says I'm a prince, but I don't know if that's the truth.'

'You don't know?' Gabriel echoed, cocking his head to one side.

'The longer you spend in this tower, the more you forget,' Dean explained. 'I've even forgotten why I'm here. The only way I can remember is by writing it down, but I don't get a lot of paper. I've just written down what's important. My full name, and things I remember about the place I used to live.'

'What's your last name? Maybe I know where you're from.'

'It's Winchester.'

'Oh.' If birds could frown, Gabriel would have done it. 'Hm ... might ring a bell. I'll look around. Isn't anyone looking for you?'

'I've been gone a long time,' Dean shrugged. 'They've probably given up.'

'I think my brothers have given up on me coming back too,' Gabriel said quietly.

He spent the rest of the night nestled into Dean's pillow.

The next morning, Gabriel was rudely awakened by Dean seizing him and stuffing him underneath his pillow. Gabriel could hardly squawk in protest when the door creaked open and footsteps entered the room.

'Good morning, Dean,' said a grave, somber voice.

'Hi Azazel,' Dean muttered.

'How are you today?'

'Oh, you know. Alive. Unfortunately.'

There was a tinkle of china, and then more footsteps. 'Do you have any requests today?'

'Yeah, do you think I could go home now?'

Azazel gave a cold, cruel laugh, and then the door shut. There was silence in the tower room for half a minute, not even Dean daring to breath, and then the pillow was taken off Gabriel.

'Sorry about that,' Dean said. 'Want some breakfast?'

'His name is Azazel, right?' Gabriel asked, perching himself onto Dean's shoulder as Dean sat down at the table where breakfast had been set. 'You know, I think I recognise the name from my travels.'

'Cool. When you find your true love, don't forget to come back and save me.'

When Gabriel said goodbye and flew off, he went, not to continue his search for his bondmate, but to look up the names of Azazel and Winchester.

He didn't find anything the first day, and came back to the tower.

'Didn't think I'd see you again so soon,' Dean said, then paused. 'You are Gabriel, right, and I'm not just talking to some random dove?'

Gabriel cooed, then laughed when Dean's face fell.

'Screw you,' Dean said, but he was grinning.

'Couldn't help myself, sorry.'

Afterwards, Gabriel went out to look for information regarding Dean and Azazel, and came back to Dean's tower every night. He almost forgot about looking for his own bondmate, but quickly shrugged it off every time the thought crossed his mind. It had been so long, what difference did a few more years make? How much more likely was he to find him?

Then Dean brought up the subject himself.

'I thought you were supposed to find your soulmate or something,' he said over lunch. Today, it was rice and vegetable soup, and wasn't actually half bad.

'It's been a while,' Gabriel said with what might have been a shrug. 'I've covered so much of the realm already. Might as well do something more productive. I heard some local bards talking about Azazel the other day, I think we might be on to something.'

'Thanks,' Dean said with a smile. 'I really appreciate this, Gabe.'

'No problem.'

It wasn't just for lack of anything else to do. If Gabriel so chose, he could have hung in the rooms of the finest kings and queens as a treasure, been brought the best food, and had all the princes and princesses in the realm brought to him. But he liked the freedom of looking for himself, and he liked Dean a lot. Dean was amusing and kind and sad, and Gabriel felt the nearly irresistable inclination to help him.

-

'Morning, Dean.'

'Hi, Gabe.' Dean took Gabriel in his hands and held him to his chest. The gesture startled Gabriel - Dean had never tried to hug him before. 'I nearly forgot about you this morning,' Dean said, and Gabriel understood.

'It's okay. You'll never have to forget anything again after today. Except with old age, of course.' Gabriel hopped onto Dean's shoulder.

'What do you mean?' Dean asked, looking at him confusedly. Gabriel said nothing, and all was quickly explained when the door was kicked down and two men in armour entered. They glanced around the room and began ransacking the shelves, table, and bed.

'Dean, may I introduce to you, my brothers Castiel and Raphael,' Gabriel said, barely restraining himself from hopping up and down on Dean, managing only by dint of hopping being rather difficult for birds. 'I went after those two bards, followed a couple of leads, and found out that our friend Azazel is a wizard wanted by my royal family for treachery, and by your family, for assault and kidnapping.'

'All is safe, Gabriel,' reported the black-haired man. 'The criminal will be dealt with by our father, and your friend is free to go home.'

'Thanks, Castiel, but you're not really expecting him to run all the way home, are you?'

'Don't get clever, Gabriel,' said Raphael imperiously. 'There is a carriage downstairs for him.'

'What's a carriage?' Dean asked, then blushed scarlet as Castiel and Raphael stared incredulously at him.

'It'll come back to you once we get out of here,' Gabriel assured him. 'C'mon, let's get out of here.'

It did come back to Dean. He was still running (read: tripping. He hadn't run anywhere in a long time) down the stairs, Gabriel flapping on ahead of him, when everything came back to him in a rush: his home, his family and friends, and how long he'd been in the tower.

'I've been there for four years,' he wondered aloud.

'Wow, that sucks,' Gabriel remarked. 'And I've been a bird for seven.'

'And I remember what a carriage is now, thanks.'

'Knew you would,' Gabriel chuckled.

'Are you going to go back to looking for your soulmate?' Dean asked.

Gabriel stopped and turned around so suddenly, Dean slid down several steps trying to avoid getting a faceful of bird.

'Was it something I said?' he asked.

'I don't know what I want to do,' Gabriel said quietly, landing on Dean's lap. 'I don't even know what I'm looking for. How'm I supposed to know when I've found my bondmate, huh? What if I fall in love with someone else?'

'Um.' Dean looked down at the bundle of white feathers. Gabriel's face was as expressionless as most birds went, but Dean could practically feel the chagrin and upset. 'I'm sorry. I don't know.'

'Me neither.' Gabriel hopped up to Dean's shoulder and nestled close to his neck.

'Castiel and Raphael are your family, right? Can't you go back to them?'

'It's only them and a few others who I got to help me,' Gabriel said, helplessness tinging his voice. 'Michael won't let me back.'

'Stay with me, then,' Dean said, turning to look at him. 'Me and my family. Sammy would love you.' And on impulse, he closed his eyes and pressed a kiss to the top of Gabriel's head.

They went crashing down the rest of the stairs.

When they recovered from coughing out dust enough to see each other properly again, Dean was sprawled on top of Gabriel. A very human Gabriel.

'Wow, you're hot as a human,' Dean blurted out. 

'I'm smaller than I remembered being,' Gabriel frowned.

Their gazes met, and the full gravity of what just happened hit Gabriel. Then he smiled. 'Should have fucking known it'd be you.'

'I don't blame you,' Dean said nonchalantly. 'Birds don't have big brains. Don't you know it's true love's kiss, not just true love?' 

But before Gabriel could retort, Dean pulled him into a proper kiss.

And that is the story of a wizard, and a prince, and how it is never just true love, it always has to be true love's kiss.


End file.
